China and Japan failed to resolve their trade disputes after negotiators concluded their two-day talks in Beijing Wednesday. Both sides agreed to have more talks as early as possible.

"Today's talks ended as scheduled (at 0330 GMT)," a Japanese negotiator told reporters.

"There will be no more meetings in Beijing this time," he added.

China had yet to comment on two days of negotiations between trade, farm and foreign affairs officials from the Asian trade powerhouses to remove major irritants in a trading relationship worth some US$70 billion a year.

But one analyst said the relative brevity of the talks -- two hours on Wednesday, following three hours on Tuesday at which each side only explained its position -- did not augur well for a resolution of the three-month row.

Expert said that talks would help avert a wider trade war, but quoted government-affiliated trade scholar Huang Dahui as saying, "It may take a higher level to solve the problem."

The stubbornness of the dispute over Japan's curbs on Chinese farm products and China's subsequent duties on Japanese industrial exports contrasts with the progress in China's World Trade Organization (WTO) entry talks in Geneva.

China, the European Union and the United States agreed on Tuesday there had been a major breakthrough in talks on the terms for China's 15-year quest to join the WTO, with trade officials predicting it would be in the trade body early next year.

Japan and China began their talks trying to sound positive.

Japanese delegation head Tadakatsu Sano said, "I think that by the end of this we will at least understand each other quite well."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said China hoped to settle the matter in Beijing this week. She played down weeks of acrimony, saying, "It is natural to have trade disputes."

China has demanded Japan lift the prohibitively high duties on imports of Chinese-grown shiitake mushrooms, spring onions and rushes for tatami mats Tokyo imposed in April.

It says Japan's curbs represent trade protectionism which violate WTO rules and Tokyo has not demonstrated that imports from China have damaged Japanese producers.

On June 22, China slapped 100 percent tariffs on imports of Japanese motor vehicles, mobile phones and air conditioners in what was seen as a tit-for-tat move to pressure Tokyo.

But Japan says it imposed the temporary "safeguard" curbs to protect domestic industries from cheap imports.

But Japan maintained that it is China's move that breaks the rules.

According to Tokyo's data for 2000, Japan's exports to China were worth 3.16 trillion yen (US$25.40 billion) and its imports from China were 5.50 trillion yen.

(Chinadaily.com.cn 07/04/2001)